Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju
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Free Music Notes for Juju
Free Music Review: Excellent album, not-so-excellent re-issue
Hit: 5 Stars
I agree with the other reviewers comments re. the album's merit as a Goth/neo-psychedlic classic AND that the sound quality on this has issues. There is NO excuse for drop-outs, and any check of the pressing master should have revealed them. I will take this opportunity, though, to mention that while uniform volume levels are welcome, this is not always possible, especially when the source material comes from different sessions or even different eras, like on Neil Young's Decade, which had similar complaints. To manipulate the overall volume level of a track either up or down often involves running it through additional compression and/or limiting. This process definitely can affect the sound quality --by reducing dynamics, or bringing certain elements to the fore, and definitely by changing the balance of the various elements in the original mix-- if pushed too far. This can be subtle, but it is a form of change from the original, which sometimes isn't worth the volume level fix. Free Music Review: The definitive Banshees album, for better or worse. A- album, C- remastering
Hit: 4 Stars
For many fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees, 'JuJu' is their favorite album. It seems to embody the spirit of the dark, gothic style the band is best known for. Many of the songs are timeless classics, though one particular fan favorite takes the Goth intentions a bit over the top.
I first purchased the original UK CD back in 1989. It was one of my first CD's, and definitely my first import CD. I was very satisfied with the sound quality on that CD, but was fine with purchasing what was supposed to be a new and improved version, primarily for the bonus material and enhanced packaging. Unfortunately, this new remaster is a big disappointment. The person who is in charge of remastering the Banshees catalog is Gary Moore, who has been doing the Banshees releases since the 2002 Best of CD. While the Best Of CD had good sound, the volumes from track to track were very inconsistent, i.e. "Killing Jar" was rather low while "Israel" was blasting. Then came the long awaited 'Downside Up' B sides collection, which had a fair amount of flaws and limitations, (see my 'Downside Up' review for full details). When the deluxe edition of 'The Scream' was released in late 2005, I was pleased to hear the remastering was excellent. Too bad it wouldn't last.
Now we have the remastering of the next 3 albums from the Banshees catalog, and there are some problems. 'JuJu' suffers from the most. First off, the sound does not appear to be any dramatic improvement, and in fact sounds a little thuddy and dull on select tracks. The big problem for me was there are several areas in which the right channel suffers from audio drop outs.
Into the light- 4:09-4:11
Halloween- 2:22-2:25
Nightshift- 0:12-0:15 (More of a fluctuation than actual drop out)
Sin in my heart- 3:13-3:15
There is no excuse for this. My philosophy - if anything about a 17 year old CD sounds better than a brand new remaster, something is wrong.
"Spellbound" was the first song I heard from the Banshees. Though the memory of the song stayed with me for years, I didn't start purchasing their albums until 1987. I don't know why it took that long because this is a great song. The combination of witchcraft lyrics layered over a driving beat and acoustic guitar is a real success story. It remains one of their signature songs, and deservedly so.
"Into the light" consists of an excellent, non-standard beat with amazing drumming and a guitar that sounds like it's crying. No, really! It's my favorite song on the album.
The only song I don't care for, yet so many fans hold it in the highest regard, is "Nightshift". To me the lyrics and music are SOOOO Goth that is comes off as a parody. I find it long, tedious and dull.
"Sin in my heart" is another classic Banshees mix of chaos and excellence, and another of my top choices.
You can't help but wonder what the band were taking when they wrote "Head cut". The lyrics are a real disturbing nightmare image, though presented in such and upbeat and zany fashion that it's a fun bit of insanity.
The bonus material is the highlight of this release. Not only do we get the original 12" versions of "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights", but we get the unreleased first attempt at their classic single "Fireworks". I cannot describe how good this version is! Siouxsie's voice sounds amazing, giving it a very different feel to the recording that was released as a single in 1982, which is still stunning.
'JuJu' is occasionally thought to have been the first Gothic album, though I do have to point out that Toyah's classic album 'The Blue Meaning' was released the previous year, and is very much a Gothic album.
'JuJu' is said to be coming out as a 2 CD deluxe edition early next year. Hopefully, this will be a brand new remaster... again.
In this day and age of the reissue/remaster, some artists are being treated very well. All of the first batches of The Cure and Depeche Mode remasters have been excellent and very well done. Horrifyingly, Gary Moore was credited for doing the latest batch of Cure remasters, covering their 84-87 output. Though the majority of it sounds pretty good, there are a few problems, though very minor in comparison to his Banshees blunders. The Banshees seem to be getting the budget remaster treatment, and it's very unfair. As far as I'm concerned, Siouxsie and the Banshees are the greatest thing to happen to music. They have such a vast and diverse catalog, though with an identity all their own. They deserve to be treated like gold, and could really benefit by having a more experienced and considerate sound engineer handling the remastering.
Free Music Review: Favorite
Hit: 4 Stars
JuJu is my 2nd favorite album by Siouxsie & The Banshees & the remastered sound is fantastic! The extra tracks on this edition are great (Fireworks is different from the Twice Upon A Time version & superior in my opinion). One of the remixes was featured on the 2 disc Best Of but it sounds better on here.Free Music Review: Album: Splendid. Remaster: Splotchy.
Hit: 4 Stars
I know you're not supposed to comment on other reviews when doing your own, but I've never felt more inclined to stand up and shout, "HE'S RIGHT, YOU KNOW!" than I do right now. Mr. Davies has hit the nail on the head with his review about the sound problems plaguing these reissues.
When I first read his review about the dropouts, I was skeptical because his was the only review of the three albums that talked about problems with audio quality; but as soon as I received my copies of the three new albums, I threw in Juju and listed for the supposed right-channel dropouts. There's no question about it - they're there. So the next logical step in trying to debunk his review was to rush straight back to my original (Geffen, not Polydor) CD that I bought 12 years ago to see if the same problems were present. Thanks to the not-so-subtle magic of having two CD drives on my computer, I was able to compare the same snippets of audio in rapid succession. The result: the original discs didn't contain the dropouts that are on the remaster. In fact, on "Into The Light," there's a crystal clear peak in volume on the original CD where the remaster's right channel gurgles.
When it comes to volume and clarity, this disc is all over the map (though not as extreme as the last two tracks on "Kaleidoscope" - How a demo version of "Happy House" can sound infinitely better than the remastered version of "Israel" is mind-boggling). To use just two examples on "Juju," the remastered "Into The Light" makes the original CD sound as though it's being played under two feet of water, and I'm not talking about the removal of producer Nigel Gray's "walking on the moon" sound that permeates the entire album. In contrast, there appears to be no upgrade in sound quality on "Sin In My Heart."
So do we blame another 15 years of master tape degradation for these anomalies or careless remastering? The tape sources in this case are Universal's vaults and Steve Severin himself, with Gary Moore as sound engineer. However, these are the same parties responsible for the brilliant-sounding "Best Of" album and the deluxe reissue of "The Scream." I think the answer is obvious, given one look at the packaging: budget. As mentioned in the review I'm referencing, so many other bands are getting the remaster treatment to their back catalog and the results are stunning. "The Scream" was equally stunning and its source material is older that that of "Juju" (and was probably in worse shape, as the first albums of every band - future legends included - tend to be when dealing with careless record labels with a new band on their roster). These next three... well... to put it nicely, they leave a lot to be desired. You can tell a lot of care and effort went into "The Scream," as did a lot of time. I can only hope they strive for that same standard with the next reissues so as to avoid making the same mistakes again.
Let's face it - the music deserves more respect.